


Champion, Quieted

by ArwynAtreides



Series: Champion Cycle [3]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types
Genre: Child Abuse, Growth, overcoming abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-30
Updated: 2018-11-30
Packaged: 2019-09-02 19:42:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 17,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16793506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArwynAtreides/pseuds/ArwynAtreides
Summary: Anzu Kaiba is no longer a little girl but the overwhelming optimism everyone's come to expect from her is only part of her story- but it's the part she's chosen.What is power without a howl of fury?





	1. Prologue - Two for a Penny

**Author's Note:**

> This is a part of the Champion Cycle. To understand this story, it would be best to read “Champion - Director’s Cut.” This story comes after “Champion, Another,” the sequel to “Champion - Director’s Cut.”
> 
> I hope you enjoy another trip into the world of Champion.

The once illustrious but forever great pharaoh looked down at the mass of dirty whelps with an appraiser's eye. It was the latest shipment of unwashed toys that was sitting before him. They squirmed deliciously under his gaze, the weight of his presence nearly smothering them. Rags, filth, and living skeletons. Each one more sad and pathetic than the last. He couldn’t decide if it was a boon or a shame that there were so many unwanted things in this world. Tossed out like so much garbage. Left alone in the wake of war and disease. But _there_ , in the cowering heap of human mistakes, one little face drew his eye. 

It was just as sad, if more terrified, than the other little faces looking around still in shock from their transport. It was covered in dirt and scum, mottled lines down its face illustrated the journey of a thousand tears. Tracks carved into one layer of filth and then colored by the next. But it wasn't the tracks, the filth, or the fresh tears running down the gaunt sallow cheeks which pulled Yami's attention. What made his eyes stop. What made his heart flutter. Was a pair. A pair of large purple eyes. They seemed to shine like little beacons in the darkness. 

Eyes so much like ones he had seen so many ages hence. Eyes like his own. Eyes which quivered and blinked as fresh tears carved new tracks and followed old trails. Eyes which looked from around the protective arm of some other filthy misbegotten. 

Yami's eyes slid away from those purple ones which he was so smitten with. They came to rest upon blue eyes. Strange eyes. Eyes which even in this dire and strange situation, still managed the gall to be _rebellious_. They looked at him as if the child they were attached to might leap up and attack him if he dared to lay a finger on the purple eyed one.

Perfect little lips curled back from perfect little teeth. Fangs glittered even in the dim light. 

He had seen eyes like _those_ before, as well. Though they were blue, but they were not the _right_ blue. He could perfectly remember the icy blue eyes which had shared that expression. Forever and an age ago there had been such an expression on such a face. 

The pharaoh sighed, wistfully. He was without his oldest accomplice. His favored advisor. One he might have even called ‘friend.’ He would have been helpful in these times but it mattered not. Yami knew precisely what Malik would have said. 

Exquisitely formed features began to glow with joy and the master gestured to his new toys. “One to bend.” 

A large oaf kicked aside filthy things and grabbed the thin arm of the purple eyed child. Shrieks and wailing began in a hoarse shrill chorus. 

“And one to break." 

Another slave dragged the blue eyed rebel up. 

"The rest are disposable. Do what you will, but do not forget that the pantry needs to be refilled." 

_One to bend_

_One break_

_Two for a penny_

_And all the fun a pharaoh could make._


	2. A World of Hope

A bundle of balloons flew from grasping hands. Giggles followed their ascent.

This was a big day. A day full of excitement and emotions. People running around, frantically taking photos, talking too fast, making promises, and giving out hugs. This was a day that marked beginnings and ends. There was a dull roar as people found their seats and settled in. An endless fidgeting still ran through the crowd as they all looked up at the stage.

At the podium now stood a girl. Nothing particularly striking about her but the crowd waved and cheered as she approached.

She stood, tall and proud, with a wide open smile. She waved at the crowd and then cleared her throat. The murmuring began to die down and she took a breath.

“Hello all!” A breeze blew a stray strand of brown hair past her blue eyes. She adjusted her hair under her cap and began again. “Hello, all! I’m Anzu Kaiba, not only your class valedictorian but also your friend!”

The graduating class erupted into cheers.

“I am so very proud of all of us!”

Her words, from anyone else, would have sounded hollow but every last one of them was the truth. She wasn’t just offering up empty platitudes. Anzu Kaiba had made it her business to make friends with each and every member of her grade. She had made it her business to be proud of each of their achievements. Anzu genuinely _was_ their friend and she was _genuinely_ very proud of all of them. More importantly, they knew it.

Anzu was a member of one of the more wealthy families who sent their children to Domino Prep. She was one of the most popular students but what set her apart from all of that was her sincerity. This was not a girl chasing after the fleeting familiarity which guaranteed votes for student council. When Anzu called you ‘friend,’ you knew that she would come to your aid, no matter what. Every student there could instantly recall at least one time when they had needed help and she had instantly volunteered. There were many there who didn’t know just how far she had gone to help them.

It wasn’t the thrill of recognition that drove Anzu to be helpful. It was something hidden from the world. A darkness that she had seen early in her life. It was an understanding of that darkness that drove her. More powerfully, it was her understanding of the crushing weight of helplessness in the face of darkness that drove her.

“We may not have all started as friends…” There was some uncomfortable shifting in the crowd. “but we have all come together to be one of the greatest graduating classes. I know that I’m supposed to talk about myself or the unformed future in my speech but I wanted to talk about you all. We are not just being graduated, we are going out into the world to do great things! We started programs in our community that will help make the world a better place! We each discovered talents within ourselves that have made us better people!”

That was Anzu, there was a raw optimism to her. She coupled it with her unwavering drive to help and she managed to create magic. There seemed to be nothing she couldn’t overcome and she helped those around her find that power within themselves. There was something wonderful in everyone she looked at and she worked tirelessly to make sure that they could see it themselves.

At times, it put her at odds with those around her, usually those who found it more comfortable to keep others down.

+…+

“Hey, Voucher Kid! Yeah, you! Blondie!” a girl called out in the bathroom.

“Excuse me?” An annoyed response caused a ripple of whispers. Voucher Kids weren’t supposed to have attitude. You did what the regular students did or your suffered. There was a hasty exodus from the third floor girls’ bathroom.

A haughty chuckle marked the beginning of what would be an epic tongue lashing.

“Ahem.” A bathroom stall opened and another girl came out. A freshman. The lone girl at the sink and the group of girls who had stalked in, all stopped and turned to look at her. “Hello-“

“Beat it. We have to have a talk with this Voucher Kid.”

“I’m sorry, what?” The girl looked genuinely confused and the lead girl rolled her eyes.

“Ugh, listen up freshman. This-“ she stabbed a pink manicured nail at the girl at the sink. “is a ‘Voucher Kid,’ one of those filthy-”

“EXCUSE ME!?” The blonde girl took a step towards the group but the freshman took a step between her and the group.

“That’s rude.” the freshman said, matter of factly.

Several of the girls rolled their yes in disgust. “Just get out. This doesn’t concern you.”

“Anything concerning one of my friends is my business.”

“Nice try. This is a Voucher Kid. She doesn’t have friends here-”

“She does. I’m one of them.”

“And just who are you.”

The girl smiled, it was an open and genuine smile that reached all the way up to her eyes. “I’m Anzu Kaiba, pleased to meet you!”

The bathroom was suddenly quiet again. The girl looked at the group of girls as they whispered between themselves and then the lead girl flipped her hair dismissively. “Whatever. Just don’t get _poor_ on you.” The group left the bathroom.

After the door closed, Anzu turned to look at her new friend who was standing, in shock.

“I- uhm- you- er,” the taller girl stammered.

Anzu smiled again, “They’re probably outside losing their minds.” She laughed and went to the sink. “So what’s your name, friend?”

“I- eh- you’re-”

Anzu sighed and looked at the blonde. “Yes, I’m Anzu. Yes, Anzu Kaiba. Yes, _those_ Kaibas. Yes, I’m rich. No, this isn’t a trick. Yes, I really am your friend, if you’d like to be friends.”

The taller girl stammered for a moment and then composed herself. “Why?”

The shorter girl smiled, “Because I don’t like people getting picked on. I think if we all try just a little we can all be friends.”

“Mai. My name’s Mai.”

“Pleased to meet you, Mai.”

Anzu left Mai, her new friend, still in a bit of a daze.

At lunch, the brown haired girl reappeared and sat next to Mai as she ate her lunch in a corner. “Hello again!”

Mai jumped and looked up to see the smiling face again. “Uh, hi.”

“Do you mind?”

Mai shook her head and tried to hide the rest of the sad sandwich she was eating.

“Do you want some of my lunch? I can’t finish it all and I snuck away from my brothers so there’s no one to steal my food.”

Mai cleared her throat and sat up straighter. Anzu could see what she was thinking. She knew that look she was wearing. “It’s not a trick. And I don’t think that sandwich, you’re trying to hide, looks all that bad.”

Mai blushed and looked at her food. “It’s not- I wasn’t-”

Anzu smiled again, and started opening up her lunch and setting aside a portion for her new friend. “Being new isn’t easy. Especially when people think there’s something weird about you.”

Passing the food to Mai, she continued, “Usually when people are mean like that, it means they’re hurting about something. Or they’re missing something. Those girls don’t have any money, no one cares about them. It’s their parents who have the money and the esteem. Children like that don’t know how to handle others unless they are above them.”

There, in the girl who was sitting opening her juice, was a cold maturity which had not been in her earlier. This was not some bubbly girl who didn’t understand bullies. One might have even been forgiven for wondering if she was really a girl, and not some grown woman in disguise.

“They want to make you feel small and insignificant because they want to feel some measure of control in a world where they know they are only like gilded ants.”

Mai’s yellow eyebrows furrowed. The cold cut through the words with a hard precision.

But just as strangely as the cold had appeared, it disappeared. “I apologize, I haven’t had a chance to make friends with them yet. But when I do, they won’t be so hard on others.” She turned and smiled at Mai. “I’m going to show them that they are special in their own ways.”

The two girls spent the rest of the lunch time talking and getting to know each other better.

+…+

That hadn’t been an empty promise. Anzu had made friends with those girls. She had showed them each that they were special all on their own. They didn’t need to feel special _by comparison_. They were special by virtue of being themselves.

That was Anzu’s special gift. She could look into people and find their special quality or gift. Unfortunately, to see that special thing she also had to see the darkness inside them. A girl who was mean to someone who had less money than her might also be a gifted ballerina. An amazing dancer who spent her days counting her calories and her nights crying next to a bathroom scale. A boy who started fights with anyone he suspected of looking at him funny could turn out to be a great strategist. A talented thinker who couldn’t figure out how to fix his parents’ broken marriage for the sake of his relationship with his sister.

Inside everyone was their hurt and pain, and mixed up with that were their talents and skills. To Anzu, it was all laid bare. She could see their evil, too. That girl would lash out and drag down those around her, winding her way into their minds and tearing at their ego, the way that the scale always made her feel like she had failed. That boy would bloody every nose he came across, all for the fleeting ability to control some aspect of his own life. Each sad person was a tragedy waiting to be written, to Anzu. Each one of them just needed to believe in themselves. Each one of them needed a friend. She could help them see that the tragedy did not need to be. The girl could become a mentor to young dancers at the community center. That boy could plan spectacular booths for the school festivals.

For Anzu, her tragedy was already written. It was a thing that could not be undone. She carried that weight and darkness in her forever. That was why she didn’t want their tragedies to be written.

What’s more, she knew all too well, how one’s tragedy could push them further and further into their darkness. Then the darkness would draw in others. Soon, one person’s hurt lead to the hurt of more and more people. It was a cascade of pain. Anzu saw herself as the one to change the flow. If she could make their darkness and pain into light and hope. If she could get them to see the good within themselves. Soon they would see the good in others, and then that would be the new chain reaction.

Anzu wanted to make the world a better place. She didn’t want to see it swallowed by darkness.


	3. The Memories of a Little Monster

A boy sat crying in the sad box. His sand castle scattered. His toy dump truck kicked out of the box. He was sobbing so hard he sounded as though he’d be sick.

Another boy was staring up in shock.

His eyes were filling with tears. His mouth was a silent ‘O.’ His hands were holding his stinging cheek. A jerk of movement made his hands drop from his face and he scuttled back. His mind was still reeling from the crack of knuckles across his face. He had never been hit like that before. He had had his had slapped, one of the other children might have slapped him, but he’d never been _punched_. His whole head had snapped sideways and his legs had given way under him.

Now, the monster was stalking towards him. A fist raised to punch him again. He had run out of sandbox. His retreat was hindered by the walls around the box.

“Don’t. Ever. Touch. My Brother. Again.” The monster wasn’t yelling. Its voice was quiet. The boy didn’t have the vocabulary for it yet but every fiber of his primordial self knew that this was not a game. This was life or death. He nodded dumbly.

“HEY! WHAT HAPPENED!?! YOU GET AWAY FROM MY LITTLE SISTER!” Another boy ran over. He came between the boy and the monster and for an instant the boy thought he was saved. Then the new boy kicked sand in his face. “STAY AWAY FROM MY LITTLE SISTER AND BROTHER!”

“Are you ok?” Mokuba turned to look at his littler sister, then he grabbed her hand and pulled her over to their brother. The little boy was still wailing and Mokuba started looking him over for cuts.

Anzu threw her arms around the smaller boy and he cried into her chest.

The yelling alerted the adults. One of the teachers came over. All four children were taken inside and made to sit in the main office as adults were called.

Mokuba sat, holding Yuugi’s hand, Anzu sat with her arms around him, and both glared daggers at the other boy who was bawling on the other side of the room. The nurse was desperately trying to tend to the growing bruise on his face.

“Mokuba, Anzu, Yuugi, someone is here to take you home.” The three were escorted out to a car, waiting in front of the school.

It was a quiet ride back home.

On the way, Anzu made sure she remembered every line, every bit of color, of that boy’s face. If he ever even _looked_ at Yuugi wrong again, he’d pay. She’d beat his head in with a rock if she had to. She would never let anyone else hurt her brother. He was so little and so weak. She could _easily_ handle him. She had fought _real_ monsters! She wasn’t going to let anyone hurt Yuugi, least of all some little piece of… _garbage_.

Anzu was sure of her actions. She had done the right thing. In fact, that boy was lucky that this was only a warning! But she glanced at the man’s face. The man who had taken she and her brother into his home. His little brother, Mokuba, insisted on calling her and Yuugi his little sister and brother. The man’s face was pale and his eyes were a sharp blue. He did not look happy. She looked away. She didn’t like looking at him for long but today there was something else which made her look away.

A gnawing began in her stomach. This man was good. He would not like what she had done to that boy. They had a good life in his home. They had food. They were clean. They had beds. He never hit them. Yuugi had even stopped screaming at night and tearing out his hair.

_What had she done?_

The gnawing became a growing sickness. She watched the scenery pass, through the tinted windows. What had she done? She could have just done what she had seen the other children do. She could have just pushed him. He would have fallen over. Maybe he wouldn’t have gone after Yuugi again. Maybe he would have gone after her instead. But she could handle that.

She didn’t do that, though. She had been so focused on stopping him. She thought that she could just end this all with one stroke. She hit him. Hard. It had seemed so simple in the moment. Now there was a growing mountain of questions. The uncertainty turned her stomach over and over again. Just when she had dared to hope that their placement might be set. Now the ground seemed like quicksand. Everything was falling away from her feet, out of her grasp.

What if this meant that they had to go away now?

It was involuntary, but her hand started to stroke Yuugi’s hair. He had changed since they had moved in with the man and his brother. Since the fire. He was just starting to get used to sleeping through the night. He was smiling more and more. What would it be like if they had to leave? Where would they be put next? There was no way that they would be so lucky again. This was a once in a lifetime thing. If they were taken-

Suddenly a pit opened up in the bottom of Anzu’s stomach. She felt like all of herself fell through the hole. _What if only she had to go?_

Her bottom lip quivered.

Of course, she would be happy for Yuugi to have a nice life when she had to leave. But what if he needed her and she wasn’t there anymore? What if the man wasn’t nice after she left? What if Yuugi was hurt and crying for her and she was far far away and couldn’t hear him?

A tear started to form but she bit her lip. She was not going to cry. Especially if she was about to be thrown out. She wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of seeing her hurt. She couldn’t let Yuugi see it either. He would need to be strong without her.

She spent the car ride thinking of what she should do. Should she be prepared to run with Yuugi tonight, in case it looked like they were going to be thrown out? It had to be better to go out alone than getting dumped in some place. What if only she had to leave? Should she still run with Yuugi? Should she plan to sneak out alone?

The car came to a stop in front of the large building that they lived in now. Anzu looked out the window and her head was crammed with plans. She looked down at Yuugi, who was blinking at her sleepily. She guessed that he had cried himself out. Then she breathed in and a yawn sprouted from her as a warmth spread out across her limbs. Maybe all of that planning had made her tired, too.

But she had to stay awake. She still had more planning to do. She had to…had to…

+…+

Thin sharp claws reaching for her. They reach out from the thick darkness. Their delicate tips sprout cruel claws. They reach for her. They touch her.

Freezing lines are drawn all over her by the claws.

Suddenly, a hot line of pain erupts across her flesh.

She screws up her eyes as tight as she can.

She cannot cry out.

She cannot cry.

She will be quiet.

“OPEN UP!” Claws wind their way into her hair. Her head shakes violently and she is sure that it is going to be pulled off of her body. Another set of claws wraps around her jaw and begins to pull.

She fights to keep her mouth closed. She cannot fight the monster. Not physically. But she can do this.

Needles touch her throat. Cold. Slowly piercing. The claws have released her jaw. It is a pale hand at her throat.

“What’s the use of air if you won’t convert it into words?” A sweet voice hisses in her ear. She knows what’s coming next. She tries to take a deep breath but the hand in her hair is too fast. A cold vice clamps her nostrils shut. Then the vice at her neck begins to tighten.

A heartbeat begins to grow louder in her ears. Her heart tha-thump tha-thumps faster and faster as her mind races. She tries to get a hold of it. Tries to slow it down but it’s being carried away by all the fear.

Is she about to die?

Is this what death feels like?

Will death be nice?

She’s heard about heaven before. It sounded nice... But was heaven where dirty _garbage_ went? It sounded too clean to be for garbage too.

But then where would she go?

Where would Yuugi go?

What will happen to him when she is gone?

What is happening to him now?

Her mind is on a wild rampage, breaking through all of the walls of calm and restraint. Her legs and arms lash out as she tries to fight. But if she can just keep her mouth shut! If she can just show that she can’t be broken!

But it’s too late. Her mouth breaks open and she tries to draw breath. A squealing giggle is dimly heard through her own heartbeat. The claws release her.

“Now isn’t that so much better? You’ve got to breathe, and I’ve got to get my answers.” She is dimly aware of the shifting. The rustling of sheets and curtains. “Take it back to its cell. I want my other one now.”

She is dragged by one thin wrist, off of the high bed. Her body crashes to the ground. The sack of garbage girl is dragged out of the room. It’s tossed, onto the cold hard ground of a room, from the doorway.

Mind still reeling, her body still aching, she drags herself to the pile of moldy straw that will be her bed until the monster is done. When her brother is freed, she’ll join him in the chamber they share.

Some part of her, some disgusting, selfish part of her is glad that her brother would dash his brains out without her. The monster still wants him so it needs her. She shivers on the cold floor and hates herself for thinking that her brother’s frailty helps her. She hates herself for wanting a halfway warm bed.

She hates herself for needing that next breath.


	4. A Gentle Facade Pierced by Harsh Reminiscences

Sunlight streams into a pink room full of stuffed animals through lace curtains. A sweet tone plays from a little radio and a maid comes into the room. She smiles and opens the curtains. “Good morning, dears.”

Big purple eyes and big blue eyes flutter open. Tiny yawns and little mewling sounds accompany the stretching and rolling around of little bodies. Smiles and a duet of “Good morning!”

The maid begins to arrange the sheets as little feet touch the floor and scamper off to the bathroom.

A little girl’s big blue eyes catch sight of something in the mirror, as she stands on the stool to turn on the water for her brother. Something on her throat. She looks away. Something nudges her not to look at it too hard.

Back down the hall go the little scampering feet. Dressing for the day. Giggling and chattering. A third child comes in and jumps on their bed. They all laugh. They all say goodbye to the maid who is finishing in the room. Three pairs of little feet run out and downstairs.

Big smiles greet them. Big smiles reply.

In the kitchen sits a man with icy blue eyes but a warm smile. Also at the table is a man with silver hair, he smiles. His eye, the one not hidden by hair seems to stay on the girl a little longer. Is there something it is looking for?

The little girl helps her little brother into a chair and pulls herself up into the chair next to his.

A cheerful breakfast.

A sing-a-long during the ride to school.

Three smiling siblings greet the teacher. She smiles but it wavers when her eyes fall on the girl. Uncertainty that the girl quickly forgets. Nudged not to think about it for long.

A happy day of learning and playing. Learning the alphabet. Learning maths. Little heads filling with knowledge. Facts and information. A puppet show and free time to play.

Drawing a picture of a unicorn. Pink, smiling, with a spiraled horn. Big blue eyes regard her creation. Something about the horn. But nudged not to look at it too hard.

A little boy with big purple eyes takes his sister’s hand and whispers that he has to go use the potty. She puts down her crayons and walks with him to the bathroom. She reminds him that she cannot go into the boys’ room and waits for him by the door. She looks at the hallway. Old artwork is displayed. She wonders if she can find her last painting. She remembers that it was-

“STUPID CRYBABY!” A harsh little voice.

Soft brown eyebrows begin to pull together. The nudge is stronger, it becomes a pull. Like a puppy pulling at the edge of her consciousness to keep her from thinking too hard on something.

“ANZU! HELP!” A scared little voice reaches from the other side of the door.

The nudging puppy tries to grow. It tries to drag her away from the darkness but it will never be strong enough. She flings it aside and jumps into the darkness. It is her shield and sword. She must be a protector.

A door is thrown open. Crying filled the room and a yelp bounced from the tiles. A monster stalked towards a would-be attacker. A little hand became a fist. The fist came down like a hammer on a chubby cheek. Stars exploded across frightened eyes.

A boy screamed but the monster doesn’t stop. The monster shoved him into a stall. Leaving the boy with nowhere to crawl as the monster stalksed closer.

The bathroom is filled with weeping and strangled apologies.

“I told you to never touch-”

An adult ran in and grabbed the monster.

Little arms and legs flail as rage overtook the monster. It howled in anger and indignation.

The bully’s wailing mingled with his intended victim’s. He stared in horror as the monster is taken away.

“NO! HE HURT YUUGI! NO!” the monster howled and snarled, its cold wild blue eyes staring into him.

+…+

Anzu sat seething. She couldn’t let him get away with this. She had to stop this before it got any further. She had to protect Yuugi! The darkness was fully wrapped around her shoulders. A mantle, a shield, and a weapon and she would wear it proudly. She would scrub that garbage out of existence. The one benefit to being garbage was that she couldn’t sink any lower. And she would gladly mire herself in darkness if she was able to hold Yuugi up above the surface.

Her fingers wrapped around the seat of the chair as she rocked back and forth and chewed on her lip. She ached to run out of that room and back to Yuugi. He would be scared without her. Her eyes darted towards the door and then back to the young teacher who was looking at her with a mixture of fear and worry. She drank in that fear and remembered the fear of that boy.

Something pulled at her. Something gnawed a hole in the bottom of her belly. She had seen it before. In large purple eyes. She was garbage… was she also now a monster. A garbage monster.

Sickness was beginning to rise. A heart wrenching symmetry began to form in her memories.

Another worried looking teacher came in, “Anzu, your-”

“Where is Yuugi!?” Anzu snapped. She needed to know what had happened to him. He had been hurt and scared and she needed to be back with him.

“He is with your brother. But your-”

“NO! WHERE IS YUUGI!?” Anzu jumped out of her seat. If they wouldn’t tell her, then she would have to go find Yuugi, herself. She was foolish to think that these adults would be any better than useless.

The man with the silver hair stepped into the doorway. “Anzu…”

A warmth began to raise and spread. Anzu’s eyes squinted and she fought to move forward even as she yawned. “I HAVE-” a yawn cut through her yell. “to find…Yuugi…” Everything was soft and she was so tired.

+…+

“So much fight. In such a filthy little bag of _garbage_.”

Hissing words. They slither into a little ear and wrap around a battered little mind.

“You’re not the first to fight me like this. I enjoy the challenge but soon you will break. I will fold you up and put you in my pocket.” A cold tongue flicks a little ear and a head flinches, involuntarily.

Large purple eyes look from a porcelain mask of vicious perfection. “Your eyes are hard but warmer than those blue eyes that once looked at me like this. You’ll never have that ice.”

+…+

“…I can’t keep doing this! She’s not responding to this treatment. She’s a fighter. I apologize, Seto. If I keep trying to do this she will lash out worse and worse. I’ll have to change the way that I treat her. Yuugi _wanted_ to forget. He accepted the changes.”

Words filtered through to the sleepy mind. Strange words.

Anzu tried to focus on them.

A heavy sigh. “Yes, I can see that. But what do you suggest? I don’t like to see her suffering but these outburst are getting worse.” The man with ice eyes spoke and his voice was heavy with fatigue.

The voice of the man with silver hair, “I don’t know but the teacher said she looked like she was going to _kill_ that boy.”

Silence.

Anzu swallowed, a girl…a boy…Yuugi…? Were they talking about her?

“Anzu, needs something different than Yuugi. She doesn’t want to let go. She doesn’t seem like she’s _going_ to let it go. Ever.”

A soft sigh, “I understand. She has to hold onto that monster inside of herself… She thinks it will help her keep her brother safe.”

Silence.

It was true. Anzu was garbage but she could use herself to save Yuugi.

“If we don’t address this soon, she’ll end up snapping and killing someone.” An uncomfortable silence opened up. “And then, it will be too late-”

“I know. I know… I just…How do you get her to accept her monster but not use it? What can you do for her?”

A soft chuckle. “I wouldn’t know. Seto, you’re the one who accepted his monster. You’re better equipped for this than I am. I can only give her sweet dreams.”

Anzu’s brow wrinkled, what sweet dreams was he talking about? Her dreams were horrible memories, reaching up from the depths.

“Tomorrow is the weekend. I suggest you start working with her.” Footsteps came closer and Anzu trying to open her eyes a crack. Just to get a glimpse of who it was.

A now familiar warmth began to rise. She tried to open her eyes wide. She had to fight this. She couldn’t go back to sleep! Not to those dark memories!


	5. Bitter Dreams are Made of These

Excitement means dread. Joy for the monster means doom for those around him. The monster’s perfect teeth shine as his hands dance, palms and fingers, over gooseflesh covered little limbs.

“My pretty little pair! So different! So complimentary!” The smile comes close to teary purple eyes. “And tonight, I will show you such wonders.” Purple eyes gaze into purple eyes. One set slides away to look at a defiant blue set, staring forward. “Both of you.”

The monster straightens up. Cold hands reach and cup little chins. “Have them bathed and ready by the time I return. And fix his hair.” a talon is flicked at a little boy, shivering and tearing up. With a flourish, the monster leaves. The dread does not leave with him.

Servants, monsters in their own right swoop in and separate the children. Each taken away to be cleaned. The boy looks over his shoulder, fearful. The girl gives him a reassuring look even as her mind races and her stomach turns.

Rough hands begin tugging off ragged clothes from a girl’s body. Exposed, her pale flesh prickles. Long scraps and cuts. Pink, red, and every shade between testify to the levels of freshness. Overlapping patches of bruises, morbid flowers of blue, red, purple, and black. Each telling its own story. The heel of a foot. The grasp of thin fingers. Scars of all different sizes and shapes litter the body.

Blue eyes, do not look at them anymore. They stare forward as their owner is dragged to a bathtub. They fight to stay impassive as flesh is harshly scrubbed. There is no gentleness wasted. No need to consider feelings when one is trying to clean garbage. An ironic and futile task. A steady stream of agony grips a little mind as each cut, scrape, and bruise cries out as rude fingers and rough sponges poke and prod.

Breath is a luxury for this girl, now. Being plunged under the surface of the water only holds the hopeful promise of death for her. Her neck snaps backward and forward as her head is scrubbed. The knots and tangles are roughly combed out. Clumps of things are pulled out. A piece of straw floats on the soapy water. Set adrift. Something else to be thrown out with the bath water.

The girl is brought into a warm room. This is not the one she shares with the little boy. This is not the one that she waits in. This is a different room. It is warm and nice. Her skin prickles as fear rises. This is all too nice. Her imagination races. What horrors would unfold in this room? Everything nice or good in this place comes with a price.

The door opens. Messy white hair and smiling brown eyes. Bakura. The slave walks into the room with something pink over his arm, and in his other hand is the little hand of a boy. He is clean and quivering. A smile wants to come through but the fear is still too deep. With Bakura comes the cruel moments of hope. His smile does not reach up to his eyes. Blue eyes try to search them. They try to search the boy’s eyes. They fly back and forth.

A ripple of shivers run through the naked body, despite the warmth of the room.

“Here, put this on.” Bakura holds out the pink thing. A dress. Insubstantially thin. The girl takes it and wriggles into it.

“Bakura, what is-”

“Ssh.” Bakura shakes his head. The door reopens and servants come in. They take the boy to a chair. He’s seated and they begin to manipulate his hair. The girl takes a step toward him. “No, Anzu, come with me.” The slave pulls her, reluctantly, farther away from the boy. A crueler distance. Able to hear and see the discomfort but unable to help.

Gentle hands take hold of her chin and carefully pull her attention away. “Listen to me carefully…”

+…+

Eyelids flickered open for a moment. Darkness. Anzu tried to pull herself out of that dream. She couldn’t remember what it was but there was something horrible coming.

+…+

Caring hands carefully comb and brush a girl’s hair. Soft words fall on her ears. They tell her to be prepared for what will await her in the depth of this night.

Servants leave and the slave sits the two children together. He gives them a blanket and gives them more soft words.

The boy’s eyes dart around. He can feel something different about himself. The girl tries not to stare. She tries to comfort him. Hopes that he cannot see his face reflected in her eyes. A face so like that of the monster’s.

A cruel eternity stretches out, left in the wake of the slave’s exit.

+…+

A fitful thrashing gripped the small sleeper.

So close to wakefulness. But still she was too close to the dream.

+…+

The monster returns and rejoices. He brings out a mirror to share his cleverness with the boy. Pale digits stroke the little face.

The boy begins to shake and cry. His eyes wide with horror.

The girl grabs him, tries to pull him away from the torturous reflection.

A misstep.

The talons holding the boy’s face accidentally catch on flesh and mar the perfection.

The monster reels and screeches.

A perfectly formed fist connects with the girl’s face and she is thrown from her seat.

+…+

“No.. no!” Anzu wrenched herself from sleep. But the dream still held her fast.

Her breath came in ragged stabs and she looked at the peaceful boy beside her. Her eyes flew about the room and landed on the door.

Dark sticky tar of the rising tide of dreams crept back up to drown her. She scrambled out of the bed, made for the door, and with shaking hands carefully opened and closed it. She was determined not to wake Yuugi. He could not see her like that. “No. No…no…”

The dream sank and rose, gaining power. She looked around the hallway. Nowhere to hide.

The bathroom.

She ran and again steadied her quivering fingers as she slipped inside.

Anzu climbed into the bathtub and the cold bit at her skin. She winced but nothing was strong enough to keep her from the tide which would take her away. It rose up like a mighty wave and she could not fight it again.


	6. All the Things We Gained in the Fire

Two little children.

A perfect pair.

Two for a penny.

One to the bend.

One to break.

And all the fun a pharaoh can make.

A monster sits on a throne. To one side sits a girl on one step of the dais, watching and calculating. She does not know what will happen this night but it seems that this is not part of the monster’s plan. They were hurriedly brought into this room, from another which seemed to be prepared for something. To the other side sits a boy. His gaze is detached, wherever his mind is it is far far away. The girl glances at him and wonders what the monster did to keep him from trying to pull his hair out or dash his brains out again. She wonders where his mind is.

Soft speaking from somewhere else in the house. Then a visitor. A man. Pale. Tall. Dark hair. A flash of something in his face. He steps into the room and the light catches on his face. The girl sees his eyes.

Ice.

Her mind races. She remembers the stories. Whispered into her ears. Roared at her. The slicing words of Yami. The gentle hopes of Bakura as he told her of another he cared for. One who had been under the palm of the monster. Now free.

Her chest tightens. Why was he here? Her eyes dart to the monster who sits, barely containing his excitement.

The visitor walks closer, unimpressed. Is this all normal for him? His eyes glance at the girl. They flicker away. They fall upon the boy. The girl is staring. She wants to see into his mind. She cannot let herself Hope but it begins to grow, unbidden. The guest’s eyes widen a fraction and then look away from the boy.

The girl watches as the man looks around. She watches, from the corner of her eye, as the monster becomes frustrated. She marvels, the guest is unperturbed by the monster’s mounting rage. Who was this person who would goad the monster and not fear the eruption?

The tiny seeds of Hope begin to put out roots. The girl hesitantly accepts them. Could this be-?

The man passes by the dais. He doesn’t look at the girl or the boy.

The monster snaps, an impatient child, “LOOK AT ME!”

The girl, the seeds of Hope now sending out little green shoots to break the surface, can’t help but giggle at the absurdity. This is another misstep, because the monster has been reduced to a snapping child by this visitor.

“DON’T YOU DARE LAUGH! I TELL YOU WHEN YOU WILL LAUGH!” A cold alabaster hand with the strength of an iron rod connects with a small cheek and the girl is thrown to the ground. A yelp escapes her lips and she curses herself, silently.

She looks up to find big purple eyes burning and locked on her. That threatening eruption is now pointed in her direction. She thinks fast and lets out a sob, gulping, “Yes, Master.”

The little leaves of Hope curl back upon themselves as the girl sees blue eyes glance at her and then look away. She begins to wonder if this visitor is someone else, some beast come to rile the beast and revel in the havoc he will wrought. Maybe the stories are about another one with similar eyes.

Her eyes flick to the boy. The monster continues to yell but she focuses on him. She realizes that she had let Hope grow for his sake. A thin line of drool is crawling from the corner of his mouth. His eyes stare out into nothing. His mind is gone. She mourns, selfishly. She knows it is better to be gone, away from the pain.

The crack of metal and wood pulls her attention. The girl starts, she feels her body freeze as the monster raises the armrest, torn from the throne, like a club over the boy’s head.

He won’t feel a thing.

This will be the end.

She watches in slow motion as it begins to come down. His head will crack open and it will be all over for him.

She will miss him.

He will be far away from this place.

He will finally-

The weapon’s arc is halted.

“Don’t touch either of them.” Icy blue eyes are hard and resolute.

The girl stares at them. She looks at the hand holding the attack. Hope blossoms. An explosion of happiness. A foreign emotion in a crashing tide.

“Children, please leave, we have things to discuss,” the guest says with a strange expression in his eyes.

The boy’s head turns, a spell broken and its shreds coming free. He stares as they are dismissed. The girl, wants to move but her mind and her body are at odds. She wants to let out a whoop of joy. She wants to grab the boy. She wants to lash out at the caught monster. She wants to run away.

Then the first blow is struck. The snap of a head backwards. The flash of fangs. Blood exploding. Droplets fly.

The girl watches, with curiosity and horror as a chunk of bloody meat is torn free from the monster’s neck. The meat is spit out unceremoniously.

The boy screams and the girl is thrown from her conflicting thoughts. She jumps up and runs with him from the room. She realizes, belated, that his were not the only screams which had come with them. She wraps one hand over her own mouth and wraps the other around the boy.

She listens to the screaming and noise from the throne room. Looking around, she expects to see the servants. Maybe the slave. But there is nothing. The mansion is quiet. A scuffle and a yell. A door half opened. There is some other battle being waged in the mansion. Danger everywhere.

The girl looks around and quickly begins making a plan to get away. She looks down at the mess in her arm. She straightens. Her brother was in no shape to run. She would have to put him somewhere and then find Bakura. He could take care of him. She wouldn’t admit it at this moment but she also wanted to see the fight between the visitor and the monster. If he succeeded… if the monster died…

In a nest of coats and scarves, the girl leaves the boy who is gibbering and sobbing. She cannot help him right now. This is all she can do. She will find Bakura and some necessary things. Then they will flee into the night.

The seeds of Hope have grown into a little tree, shining buds glow in her mind. They will blossom. There is hope for Yuugi. She will always be garbage but there is hope for him.

Quiet and fast, she makes her way to the room she shared with Yuugi. She takes a pillowcase from the bed and begins stuffing clothes in it. She doesn’t know how long they will be running.

The door bursts open. It is hastily shut by the entrant.

The girl, eyes wide, her heartbeat hammering at her ears, tries to find an exit.

The man fumbles with the lock. He is not looking for her. Blood is spattered on his shirt.

The door explodes inward and the man is knocked back.

The girl bites her tongue to stop a yelp and frantically scrambles under the bed. Was the monster done with his fight? Had he come to find her? Was he on a rampage? Why hadn’t she just taken Yuugi and gone!? Who really needed clothes? She hated her foolishness and shivered and felt the tears rolling down her cheeks. She had doomed Yuugi.

Stalking footsteps come into the room. Like a cat, they come closer and closer as the servant scrambled backwards.

She watches from underneath the bed as the servant cowers and pleads. Blood covered boots come to a halt. The girl can picture the servant’s face. He is close enough that he could grab her from under the bed. She wants to try to crawl further away but her body won’t listen. All she can do is hope that the monster doesn’t hear her breathing.

“I only lament that I cannot take the time to properly enjoy this.” A voice hisses. The girl’s blood runs cold. Something passes through the air quickly. A gurgling sound. A thump.

Wide eyes stare at her, hiding under the bed. Blood pumps in fits from a torn throat.

The girl whimpers. She is useless garbage. She has doomed Yuugi. Her brother. The one person in the world she has loved. The one good thing in the dark reeking hell of this world. He was sitting alone in the dark closet. If he wasn’t already a shredded pile of meat.

The bed is tossed in the air and the girl screams. There is no use being strong now. She has lost every reason to be strong. Every reason to be alive.

“Oh! Oh sweet baby, Anzu! Oh! I am so sorry that you had to see this!”

Through stinging tears, the girl sees the slave. Over the sound of her own gulping sobs she hears his voice.

“Sssh. Sssh. I’m so sorry, sweetie!” Bakura’s arms wrap around her. He smoothes her hair with a gentle hand. His fingers leave bits of flesh, blood, and bone. “I’ve taken care of most of them. Darkling, let’s go find Yuugi.”

Swirling emotions and images. Bitter smells. The sounds of struggling and crashing. The mansion is full of nightmares of every kind. Now out in the open for any casual observe to reel in horror at.

The slave takes the little girl down the stairs. Bodies litter the ground. Blood and gore adorns everything. Things the girl had not noticed on the way now fill her sight as she is carried. Images burn their way into a little mind which is already so full of horrors.

Bakura takes her past the closet. He stops in front of the throne room. Fire is racing up the walls. In the flames, through the smoke, the girl can see the struggle as it continues.

“See that, Anzu? That’s our champion.” A calm Bakura says. He stands for a few moments more. The girl looks into the fire and her little mind bubbles and roils. She thinks about sacrifice. She thinks about protection. She thinks about what it takes to rid the world of a monster. “Let’s go find, Yuugi, now. I think I hear help coming.”

Bakura begins hushing her and stroking her hair obsessively as they walk back to the closet.

There, in the nest is the little boy whose mind could handle no more horror, still shaking and weeping.


	7. Comfort and Rest

In the distance there was a soft knock. Knuckles on wood.

“Anzu…?”

Anzu sat up with a jolt, in the bathtub. She tried to sit absolutely still. The dream still clung to her like a suffocating blanket and she wasn’t sure if it was done.

“Anzu, what’s wrong?” Soft words came, muffled, through the door.

The voice… It’s not Yuugi. Anzu’s shoulders relaxed and she listened to her breathing filling the darkness of the bathroom.

“It’s Seto. May I come in?”

Anzu tried to be as quiet as possible. She tried to will him away. She didn’t want to be seen like this. She had to compose herself before anyone saw her. She couldn’t show this weakness.

“I’m going to come in, ok?”

Anzu tried to quietly find the shower curtain. As the door swung open, she pulled the curtain in place.

“What happened?”

She listened to the door close and the soft padding forward as slippered feet came closer. The toilet cover creaked softly as Seto sat down. Anzu wasn’t sure if her eyes were open in the dark but she tried to stare at the curtain to see if he was opening it. But the curtain didn’t move.

“It’s ok, if you don’t want to talk. I’ll just wait until you want to go to bed and I’ll help you out.”

Anzu shivered. How long would he stay there?

“Did you have an accident? Is that why you’re in the tub?”

Anzu’s cheeks burned with annoyance. She wanted to blurt out that she wasn’t a baby! She was MUCH too old to be having ‘accidents!’

“Should I get you some clothes so you can clean up and then go back to bed?”

Maybe if she told him there hadn’t been an accident, he’d go away. “I didn’t pee in my bed.” She mumbled.

“Oh, well if you do have an acci-”

“I didn’t!”

“I know, I just wanted you to know that if you do-”

“I _won’t_! I had a bad dream. That’s all!”

“Ah…”

Anzu bit her lip.

“I was hoping that you’d only have good dreams.”

She felt her eyes blink. What did he mean…?

“I hope that _all_ of my children have good dreams.” The words made Anzu feel good for a moment but she shook her head. “You and Yuugi, especially.”

She stared out into the darkness. She wished that she could see his face. What did he mean? Why would he think of her? Why hope that she had good dreams?

“I’m not sure what you know about me but when I was little…” The man seemed to struggle with the words. “When I was little, I also lived with Yami. I don’t know what your life with him was like but… I know that my time was… Hell…”

Anzu’s hand rose to touch the curtain.

“I still have bad dreams about things he did. It happened a very long time ago but sometimes I wake up and it feels like it’s still happening.”

Tears began to sprout in her eyes as she squeezed them shut, “Will they ever stop?”

A soft sigh came through the plastic and cloth barrier. “I want to tell you that they will but I don’t think they will.”

A tiny sob broke forth and was quickly stifled.

“However, that doesn’t mean that you have to live in fear.”

“But… you already killed him…” Warm tears ran down her face and Anzu heard Seto shuffle his feet and cough. “If he’s gone… why won’t the dreams go away?”

“Oh, dear, I… they…” Seto struggled with the words and his loss of control was something Anzu realized she was not prepared for. Her chest hurt and the sobbing grew louder. She couldn’t contain the shivering anymore. The curtain swished away and strong arms reached into the tub and gathered her up. “Sssh, Anzu…Those things are now a part of your story.” Her sobbing gave way to a wail that she tried to smother against Seto’s chest.

Seto’s hand stroked her hair and, for one of the few times in Anzu’s little life, she allowed herself to be a child. She bawled and shook for a long time. She would never be free of this torment. Even knowing that the monster was dead wasn’t enough. She would always carry these tragedies with her. Tragedies and scars. And always garbage.

“Ssh, Anzu. Darkling…” Seto’s gentle words fell upon her ears as she took a shuddering breath. The breath caught. “That was Bakura’s pet name for me when I was younger, and I have a feeling, it was also his name for you. Am I right?”

Tears still burned their way down her cheeks and sobs still choked her but Anzu nodded her head.

Seto hugged her and then resumed stroking her hair. “I don’t know if he told you what that name means…” Anzu shook her head into Seto’s chest. “He once told me that it was because I wanted to be stronger than I was prepared to be. I wanted to be dark and big and bad but I was still little. But you and I know, in that house there are no children. If you want to survive, you have to be dark. Right?”

Anzu nodded into his chest.

“Even though you’re not in that house, it’s still inside you. Yami’s words and the scars from… what he did… inside and out…” Seto’s hand rubbed her back and she flinched. “It’s ok.” He returned to stroking her hair. “Anzu, I want you to listen to at least one thing. I know that there are a lot of nightmares still waiting for you in the future. I know that you just survived a nightmare. _However_ , I want you to know that those horrible things are not _you_. You are _not_ your pain.”

What did that mean? Pain was the least of her problems!

“I’m sure there were a lot of things that Yami said to you. Everyone was worthless garbage to him.” Seto’s arms held her tighter when she flinched at the word ‘garbage.’ “You are _NOT_ garbage, Anzu. You are an amazing person.”

‘No.’

“You survived something that most could never even _dream_ of. More than that, you fought to protect your brother.”

‘I’m still garbage. I’m still disgusting garbage!’

“You are a hero, Anzu.”

Silence stretched out and filled the bathroom. Anzu sat in Seto’s arms and shock gripped her.

“You have suffered in your little life, so far, more than most people will suffer in their entire lives. _BUT_ you survived. And that’s not even the best part. You’re _not done._ Anzu, you have a whole life ahead of you where you will be able to make decisions for yourself. You will learn how to laugh. You will learn how to sing and dance. You will even learn how to leave Yuugi alone. As you two grow, you will both find a way to survive in those minutes when you are not together. Most surprisingly, Anzu, you will learn to love yourself. You won’t see yourself as garbage anymore.”

Anzu sat still.

“I know that you can’t believe me yet, but your hurt is not what makes you. You are not your hurt, it is just a _part_ of your story.”

The words all felt so fake, they couldn’t be real. They couldn’t be for her. He should be saying those things to Yuugi. Yuugi still had a chance at happiness.

“But…”

“Can you sit up for a moment?”

Anzu furrowed her brow but sat up. Seto tapped the mushroom shaped nightlight on the edge of the sink. A soft yellow light came from it and Anzu blinked.

“May I have your arm?”

Hesitantly, she held out her arm in from of her. Seto’s cold finger touched a long jagged line that ran over the top her arm. Anzu’s eyes followed it from her elbow to her wrist. She had not complimented one of Yami’s new pairs of gloves. He had carved the line out of her flesh and told her that he hoped that’d she’d be able to find some nice gloves to cover it.

“This does not define you. This is one line in the story of your life.”

She stared at the line. His finger moved and alighted on a mottled brown splotch on the top of her hand. She had bumped into Yami’s tea service and he had pouring boiling water on her hand.

“This does not define you. You are not your hurt. It’s just a part of your story and you survived it.”

Anzu sniffled.

A cold finger touched her throat. Overlapping lines and spots covered it. All the times she had fought not to give Yami what he wanted. Every time he grabbed her throat. Every time he choked her. Every time she though she was finally going to die.

“These are what a monster did _to_ you. They are not who you are. You are not your hurt.”

She thought she had already used up all of her tears but more came forth and she was blinded by them. Even though she couldn’t see it, she felt his finger as Seto touched scar after scar. Sobs choked but she heard him as he said over and over “You are not your hurt.”

It was in the wee hours of the morning when Anzu felt Yuugi snuggle closer to her. She could hear him snoring softly. She was dimly aware that she was back in bed. Seto must have put her there.

“Ssh, sleep now, Anzu.”

Anzu felt her mouth move in an odd way and a hand stroked her hair. Soft and gentle dreams rolled in this time. There was no torture There was no fear. There was a soft warmth that did not try to over take her. There was only a strange sensation. 

Completely alien to the girl but not unsettling was the smile upon her lips and the feeling of safety. Two things that she had never had the opportunity to become acquainted with.


	8. The Right Kind of Monster

Sunlight warmed Anzu’s face when she rolled over.

There were so many things different about this morning. There was no cruel goblin of harsh reality sitting at the foot of the bed, ready to drag her into another day in hell. There was no angel perched on the headboard, smothering her with the empty warmth of forgetfulness. There was only Anzu.

Her hand reached out and her eyes flew open as she realized that there was only she. She sat up hastily and looked around. “Yuugi!?”

Two messy mops of hair popped up from the foot of the bed and a set of brown eyes and a set of purple eyes sparkled. Relief took the place of fear. Something tugged and Anzu felt her mouth make a strange shape again.

Anzu joined the boys on the floor and the three played with stuffed animals. Then Bakura came in to herd them downstairs. They ate breakfast with him, then he helped Yuugi and Anzu dress before taking them all to the park.

“You can’t stay home all the time! You all need fresh air and some exercise!” He said excitedly as he packed them up in the back seat of the town car, with a picnic basket.

Yuugi and Mokuba cheered and clapped their hands but Anzu couldn’t help watching Bakura. He carefully strapped the boys in their carseats. She put herself in her own. She watched and it seemed that for the first time she noticed how strange everything was. Yuugi was not tortured. He was all giggles and smiles. He wasn’t scared of what this trip could mean. Bakura smiled at her when he checked her harness. He tweaked her nose and her brow furrowed.

Bakura looked at her strangely and for a moment his expression flickered. He leaned in and whispered in her ear, “I see you’re awake again, Little Darkling.” He pulled his face back and touched the side of her face. His expression was mournful for a moment and then it was gone and he was closing the car door.

During the ride to the park, Anzu tried to stay awake. Yuugi’s hand felt hot in hers. She looked out of the window and listened to the boys talking. Mokuba was always a happy child. He had grown up with Seto as a father. He had never had to worry and every day for him was a blessing taken for granted. His joy made sense to her. His smiles were so easy.

But Yuugi’s were strange. They seemed to be like Mokuba’s. So natural and easy, but that was not the Yuugi that Anzu knew. Her Yuugi had once been able to smile and laugh. Forever ago, in the orphanage where they had foolishly thought it could not get any worse. Yuugi would find ways to laugh and he would try to make Anzu smile. Even when their bellies were growling and the bigger children would fight with them for a blanket. Even in the big box he had tried to keep from crying, for her. Then they had been chosen.

… _two for a penny…_

Then he became a different Yuugi. His tears never seemed to stop. In the darkness he would scream. She would spend her nights holding him tightly to her chest, trapping his hands against her chest to keep him from clawing at his own face. Some nights he would scratch chunks out of her skin. His tears would sting the wounds but she still held onto him.

Her hand squeezed Yuugi’s, unbidden.

Those nights were no more. It also seemed as if that Yuugi was no more. This should make her happy but she knew that she could not trust happiness. There was something wrong with this change…

The car came to a stop and the door was opened.

Anzu stumbled after Yuugi as he and Mokuba skipped towards to the playground. Her late night was weighing her down but she had to stay with Yuugi.

The boys were giggling and talking quickly. Mokuba wanted to show Yuugi the slide.

“Why don’t you let Anzu sit with me for a while? You boys can go play and we’ll be on the bench.” Bakura took Anzu’s free hand and Yuugi hesitated as Mokuba grinned. “It will be fine, Yuugi, go with your new brother.”

Yuugi looked at Anzu, unsure. Anzu stared at him and realized that he was waiting for permission. She glanced up at Bakura and saw all of their faces reflected in his sunglasses. She looked back at Yuugi, his hand was still holding tight to hers. She nodded and loosened her grip. He smiled and the two boys ran off.

“C’mon, Little Darkling.” Bakura took her to a bench in the shade of a tree and they sat down. He set the picnic basket down by his feet. Anzu pulled herself up on the bench and looked in the direction the boys had gone in. It was only a few yards away and she could see them climbing up the ladder to the top of the slide. “Little Darkling, come lay your head on my lap. You look like you’re going to fall asleep.”

Anzu frowned, “I’m awake.”

He turned his head and smiled at her. His hand stroked her hair and she couldn’t help but yawn. “I’ll keep watch.” Anzu nodded and laid her head down in his lap. Bakura’s hand gently played with her hair and the warm sun and soft breeze all made her suspicious. So much to be happy about. So much was so gentle. Everything was so comfortable. Too comfortable...

“Seto and Max just wanted to help you, Little Darkling. When you are older- maybe when you have little ones of your own- you will know what drove them.” Warm words filtered down through her sleepy mind. “I think you’ll be better now that you’re awake…”

It was during a unicorn’s passionate speech about the state of affairs in the land of ponies when the alarm was triggered. It was when the sweet softness had completely enveloped Anzu. Suddenly, every nerve was crackling. A buzzing filled her ears. Everything was spinning and moving. She realized that her feet were pounding on the ground.

She looked around and realized that she was up and running. Mokuba was yelling. He was ready to fight. Yuugi was wailing on the ground. He was calling her name.

Anzu ran to the threat. That same boy from school. He stood his ground and shoved Mokuba to the ground. He hadn’t seen Anzu and he was advancing on Yuugi. “What’re ya gonna do!? Huh!? Crybaby!”

“HEY!” Anzu snapped. The boy’s head whipped around and his eyes grew large. “What are you…”

Her voice trailed off as she saw the boy’s expression. Fear. Open, and unfiltered fear. What was he that scared of? Was it her? Some part of her reveled in his fear, he would learn to leave her brother alone. Every time he looked at Yuugi he would remember the consequences of upsetting him. But there was something which made her stop short. A sickness in the pit of her belly. Had she become the kind of monster who caused this kind of fear?

The boy broke from his shock and turned to run away in fear. His foot caught on a plastic dump truck and he fell. His glasses flew from his face. He tried to crawl away from her, wailing, “REEEEX! HELP!!”

Anzu looked at the boy scrambling away and then at Yuugi. Mokuba had his arms wrapped around Yuugi and he was patting his head. She sat down with them and checked Yuugi for wounds.

“Ugh! Really? You stupid little _crybaby!_ ” A disgusted voice came through the boy’s wailing and Yuugi’s sniffling.

Anzu looked over her shoulder and saw an aggravated boy standing over the distressed boy. “Get up, Weevil. We’re going home. Since you _ruined_ my afternoon.”

“She’s- she’s-” The crying boy’s finger shook in Anzu’s direction as he tried to cling to the older boy’s leg. She looked at his accusing finger and then at the standing boy.

She stood up and wondered if this boy was going to be angry with her.

The older boy looked her up and down and then laughed. It was a harsh and cold laugh. The blood froze in the girl’s veins. She had heard a laugh like that before… from the monster…

“She’s just a little girl. Get up.” The older boy turned on his heel and walked away. The would-be bully cried for him to wait. He tried to scramble up while keeping his eyes on Anzu.

Rooted to the spot, Anzu felt ill.

She watched the boys go. Was that another monster? Did that boy live with a monster? Did he need a champion? Was this the boy she had feared would hurt Yuugi?

The two left the park and Anzu’s thoughts swirled and howled. Her eyes fell to the spot where the green haired boy had been. Was he just a scared little boy like Yuugi?

“Looks like he might be another littler Darkling, Little Darkling…” Bakura whispered. “Why don’t you go get his glasses, dear. He’ll need them on Monday.” His hand pointed to the lost glasses.

Nodding, dumbly, Anzu walked to where the boy’s glasses had landed.

On the ride back, one of Anzu’s hands held Yuugi’s. In the other, was the pair of glasses. Big, round, thick and ridiculous looking. How could she have been afraid of child wearing those things. She remembered his face. He wasn’t really scary. Then she remembered Yuugi’s cry for her help. No matter how weak he might be, he still scared Yuugi.

‘REEX! HEELP!’

She heard the boy’s cry. It was not unlike Yuugi’s cries for her. 

That night, Anzu set the eyeglasses on the nightstand next to her bed. She had stared at them all day. As the day had worn on she had become increasingly confused. That boy was not scary, but he scared Yuugi. He was mean to Yuugi, but his brother was mean to him. He was afraid of her but she was just protecting her brother. He cried, but his brother didn’t try to protect him.

Dreams swirled in her head and darkness rose. The brave unicorn gave way to something sickening.


	9. Echoes of a Future

Yuugi sits alone, motionless in the dark. His eyes are wide with fear. Terrified, they stare through the dim light to the darkness behind her. Tears quiver and fall from them in a never-ending waterfall. Large and expectant, the eyes focus on some incoming danger. Something terrible is on the cusp of occurring but she would hold onto him until it passed. Anzu reaches out for Yuugi. She reaches out as she always has. But cold suddenly grips her heart.

Her arms extend but he... He recoils.

A cruel realization dawns.

His eyes are not looking past her. Not over her shoulder. Not above her head. They were looking at _her_. She tries to reach out to him again. She tries to take a step closer. But every move she makes sends him further away from her. Further into the grip of hysteria.

"You know…” A hiss comes from the darkness. “I've always said that he looks like me. Look at those delicate features.” A soft laugh rolls into Anzu’s ear. "Look at those eyes. Mmm, you can just swim in their amethyst depths." A hand tickles the back of her thigh, it crawls up to her belly. "But look in those eyes. Really look at them. There. You can see it all reflected in those big wobbling tears.” Anzu looks at the big staring eyes and she sees only herself. “It seems that they have revealed a deeper truth. Really it's _you_ who is like me." A sharp hand strikes her shoulder and slithers down her top. It rests on her chest.

She stares at those purple eyes. She sees the look of terror. "You see it... There. And feel it… _here_..." Manicured claws stretch and flex then dig into her flesh.

More than in her flesh. Deep into her soul. Anzu feels it. The pain becomes anguish. Fears she had never known rear their horrific heads.

_"You're not garbage, after all_! _”_ a hissing laughter fills her ears. “ _You’re really a_ ** _monster_** _!_ "

"NO!" She screams. She howled as the claws bite deeper into her chest. Her heart thumps louder and louder. It races, as it tries to break free of its bony cage. She feels it fights and straining, ready to leap straight into the talons of the monster.

" _But look at him_!" Yami's voice hisses. His lips brush her ear and she tries to pull away. She tries to lift her hands to cover her ears. But her body won't following her instructions anymore.

The claws leave her skin, sliding up and away behind her but it is not the monster who has moved. She feels her body moving, unbidden. Moving towards Yuugi. She feels her legs, feels her feet rise and fall. He tries to scuttle away from her but she keeps steadily advancing. She stalks closer and closer. He wails louder and louder. His cries fill her ears. Soon she is standing over him. He howls beneath her, words lost to him in the crush of pure panic. She wants to pull herself back. She knows that she is scaring him. She has to retreat. She has to leave him alone. She would never want to cause him-

Her hands shoot out. One grabs a fistful of his hair. She tries to open her grasp but her fingers are not her own. She feels her other arm move. Fingers tightly clenched in a fist. 

Yuugi’s arms rise up to shield his face.

The world suddenly slows to a hellish crawl. She watches the fist coming down. She sees the expression on Yuugi's face. Tears falling his wide eyes. His mouth frozen in a howl of anguish. She has betrayed him. She's supposed to be his protector. She’s supposed to save him. She was never supposed to raise a hand to him! This is unthinkable! This is impossible! Everything in her screams out for her to run away. Her mind shrieks and fights to regain control.

Everything suddenly stops.

Yuugi's howls are silenced. Anzu's fist still raised, threatens to fall upon him. His fear is still etched into every line of his face. Her other hand still holds his hair in a vice. His arms hang in the air, trying to protect himself.

"Why are you so _surprised,_ Anzu? _Why pretend to be caught unawares by something so obvious_! This was always going to happen!" The familiar hiss comes from the darkness. It materializes in her ears. “Ah... I _see_ , you thought you could pick and _choose_. Thought you could be a monster in _service_ to him. Thought you could be a blood soaked beast eliminating and intimidating enemies as you saw fit. Then turn into some sweet soft pet for him. But that's not how the world works." A tongue flicks her ear. "You either _are_ a monster or you're not." A soft chuckle fills her ear and chills run up her spine. " _You, my dear, are most certainly a monster! Just look-_ “

"Anzu. You are not your hurt."

A voice breaks into the darkness. It has a hard quality to it but the words are gentle.

"You are not your hurt. Your hurt does not define you."

Anzu stares at the Frozen Yuugi. She opens her hand. Black, yellow, and red strands fall from her fingers. Turning to ash as they fall. Anzu's eyes follow the specks. A breeze picks them up. Grey creeps over Yuugi's body. Suddenly, it collapses. His hands and arms, fall to ash and blow away. Then his body begins to crumble. From his feet to his shoulders, the ash comes apart and is caught by a stray breeze. His head lingers for a moment longer. His eyes. His big eyes. Still staring. Horrified. Betrayed. Scared. Then this too is gone. She stares into the space where Yuugi had been.

Lips press themselves to her ear, "Just a like a fire. You will consume everything. Your touch will-" 

"Anzu, your hurt does not define you. It is merely a part of your story."

Anzu feels herself compressed. She hears the hard words spoken gently at her ear. Again they say, "You are not your hurt." Over and over again. They tell her.

Slowly she remembers where she has heard them. "Seto..."

"Yes, dear."

Anzu's eyes flew open. A dream. Not a memory. Not the future. A dream. She tried to get her bearings. Nothing seemed right anymore.

Everything was moving. Back and forth. Back and forth. She wasn't in her bed. Something was touching her head. Something was around her.

Slowly, Anzu realized that she was in Seto's arms. His hand was stroking her hair. His words were still falling on her ear.

"You are not your hurt."

Anzu felt a wave of emotion crash upon her. The ground was pulled out from beneath her feet. She didn't have control over anything. Her face was hot. The tips of her ears burned. She buried her face into Seto's chest and wailed.

"It's alright. It's safe to cry." Seto whispered. Then he continued his chant. “You are not your hurt.”

Everything was different. The monster was gone. It had been defeated. Her role had changed. She was no longer a protector in a savage world. She was just supposed to be a child. But how could she give up being a protector. She was becoming a monster. Monsters don't protect. They only destroy. She wanted to destroy that boy. Destroy? No, she couldn’t want that... could she? _She only wanted to protect Yuugi._

"You'll find a new you when you let go of who Yami tried to make you. You don't have to be a Darkling anymore. You can be whoever you want to be."

Seto had been a monster for them. Why couldn't she be a monster for Yuugi?

Anzu felt Seto stiffen. His arms held her desperately.

“Anzu... I have... done things that I am not proud of. I... Gave into a savagery that I pray you never find within yourself."

She didn't know what the word 'savagery' meant but she knew what she had seen that night in the fire. She had seen him. He had been a beast. He had been a beast who had fought a monster. That was what she had thought she could become. She would-

"No! No!"

Anzu jumped, her crying stopped.

"I- I'm sorry... Anzu, please, I was a beast that night. I did a terrible thing so that I could spare you from ever having to become a beast or a monster." His voice caught. A shiver ran through his body and she felt him begin to rock back and forth with her again. "I never want you to have to do the things that I did. I never want you to fully give in to the darkness. You don't have to be a Darkling or anything darker. You only have to be a child... Please..." His hand stroked her hair and his shoulders shook.

Silence fell on the pair and Anzu listened to him sob. He wept and rocked, still holding onto her like he was afraid of something. His hand moved over her hair with the rhythm.

"You are more than your hurt..." Anzu lifted her hand, wriggled it out from between them. She touched his cheek in the dark and he flinched. "Your hurt is only a part of your story. It does not define you."

She didn't know what the words really meant but she knew what they made her feel. She had an idea of what they meant to Seto. She didn't know all of the hurt that Seto had in him. She knew stories that Yami and Bakura had told her and she had seen the wounds after the night of the fire. She knew that there must be so much more hurt in him. Just like all of the things she would never talk about. She knew that there must be secret pains that he had bottled up inside.

"I'm sorry..." Seto took a breath and straightened up. "We have to get you back to bed. So..." She felt him shift and vigorously shake his arm. He turned on the nightlight and she saw some dark spots, partially wiped away, on his cheeks. He smiled down at her and held up her hand. He indicated a scar with his index finger. "You are more than your hurt."

Anzu yawned and rolled out of Seto's arms, back into bed. Yuugi snuggled closer and resumed snoring softly.

A triumphant unicorn gave a speech to a brigade of flying monkeys.


	10. Who Are You?

The following day, Anzu carried around the big funny eyeglasses. She held them in her hand as she stumbled through the house. The nights of nightmares had broken her down. Dark circles had settled in around her eyes and her limbs felt heavy. Heavier still, were the eyeglasses.

She set them down in front of herself when she sat down. She looked at them and didn't see them. She only saw the boy. His beady little eyes. His green hair. His harsh smirk. She saw a vile little worm who delighted in hurting her Yuugi.

He was an unpleasant creature.

She blinked and saw him again, trying to crawl away from her. Terrified. She blinked quickly. He was crying, tears spilling freely. He looked up at someone, a ray of hope. 'Crybaby!'

Anzu's nose wrinkled. She had heard that before... Staring into her bowl of oatmeal she tried to remember it. A little hand touched her arm and she jumped. Yuugi squeaked and she smiled reassuringly. 'Stupid crybaby!'

Her brow wrinkled and she remembered where she had heard it. That boy yelling at Yuugi.

Anzu spent the rest of the day with the glasses and thoughts of mean people being hurt. Her mind pushed and pulled this thought. It tried to understand it. Tried to make sense.

"Little Darkling, come. Let me do your hair." Bakura called sweetly to her. Anzu stood up from her spot in front of the television, which she wasn't watching. She ambled to the couch where he was sitting and climbed into his lap. "What is troubling you?"

Anzu looked down at the eyeglasses, still held tightly in her hand.

"Is it about the little boy from the park?"

She nodded as the comb ran through her brown locks.

"Has he been the one picking on Yuugi?"

She nodded again.

"He's the one you have been beating up."

She nodded more slowly.

"Are you wondering why he picks on Yuugi?"

She nodded. How could he be so mean to someone when someone was mean to him? How could he use the exact same mean words that were used on him?

"Let's not dwell on unpleasant things, Little Darkling. How about I tell you a story?" The brush made a swish sound as it passed through her hair.

+…+

"Once upon a time, there lived a happy family of fluffy bunnies. They all lived in a valley that was full of other happy and fluffy animals. Animals of all different kinds lived there in harmony with each other. The animals who ate plants lived side by side with the animals who would have eaten meat outside of the valley. In that very special valley, all the animals ate the plants which grew plentiful."

Anzu's brow wrinkled. This did not sound like Bakura's usual story for her. This sounded like a story he would tell Yuugi.

His fingers began separating her hair.

"One day there came a beautiful fairy. Everything about her was sweet and pink. Long pink hair flowed from her head. She wore a flowing pink gown. Even her wings were a sparking pink.

"She landed in the valley and looked around. All of the animals were hiding, but they peeked out at her, curious. From her smiling mouth came a light bubbling laugh. 'Oh, come now! Sweet animals! I have come to give you gifts!'

"Hesitantly, the animals began to come out one by one. The sweet fairy smiled at each of them and gave them soft pats. Soon almost all of the animals of the valley were in attendance. The only animal not in attendance was one of the young bunnies, who was sick in bed at the time.

"The fairy smiled. She waved her hand. 'Now I shall begin giving you your gifts!'

"To the gentle creatures like the deer, squirrels, and bunny rabbits she gave suspicion. Why did the Bears have such sharp teeth if they only ate grasses and berries?

"To the meat eating creatures like the bears, wolves, and foxes she gave a new hunger. Why were they eating the grasses and berries when there was delicious meat to be had?

"There was a deathly silence in the valley." Bakura's fingers stopped weaving locks of hair and Anzu felt uneasy in the new silence. "Then the valley erupted in chaos and blood. Neighbor attacked neighbor and friend flew from friend. The fairy laughed as she watched the mayhem. The plant eaters ran from the valley, seeking shelter in the surrounding woods. The meat eaters gave chase. Soon there was not a soul in the valley.

"But as the fairy listened to the receding din there was a new sound. It was the soft sound of something small and fluffy approaching. It was the soft fluffy bunny who had been in his sickbed. He came to the fairy and asked her what had happened. Where were all of his friends? Where was his family? What was all of the noise, he had heard which had made him come out?

"The fairy smiled sweetly and told him that she had given all of his friends and family gifts and now they were off in the forest running and hunting each other. The bunny stood in shock for a moment and then asked her why.

"'Why? What do you mean, why?'

"'Why give them such terrible things- gifts you called them. Why, if it means so much pain and sorrow?'

"The fairy thought on this for a moment, for she had not thought about why she gave such gifts- or even why she gave gifts at all. Finally she shrugged and said, 'Well, it's what the fairy before me did.’ She said as a matter of fact. ‘I used to be a sweet little fairy whose only goal was to kiss the dew on leaves and petals each morning. But then some other fairy came and gave me a terrible gift. So I have spent my days since giving all creatures that I encounter my own terrible gifts. I have given many creatures such gifts. It is simply what I do.'

"'Why?'

"'I have told you! It is what I do. Just like the fairy before me.'

"'Do you _like_ giving these gifts?' the little bunny asked, sincerely.

"The fairy glanced at the forest and sighed. 'No. I wish that I could return to kissing the dew on petals and leaves.'

"'Why can't you?'

"The fairy smiled sadly at the little bunny, 'I cannot, because I know too much. I was innocent and empty headed when that other fairy found me and now my head is full of too many terrible things to be empty and innocent again.'"

Anzu felt Bakura's fingers manipulating more locks of hair.

"The little bunny looked at the fairy and looked at the forest. He frowned. 'Is your head only full of terrible things?'

"The fairy laughed, 'No, it is full of a great many different things.'

"'So then why not give gifts which are not only terrible? How about some good gifts?'

"The fairy thought about this for a long while. It was true that she could always just give terrible gifts. It was also true that she could probably give out other types of gifts if she wanted to… 'But why?'

"'Is it fun to make other creatures feel bad?'

“‘No...’ she said softly, ‘but why should they all get to feel good? I cannot go back to kissing dew! They cannot stay happy! We will all be miserable!'

"The bunny frowned, 'Will everyone being miserable make you feel better? Do you feel better now that you have ruined this happy valley?'

"The fairy could not say that she felt any better now that the bunny's friends and family were all miserable. Their pain did not at all make her feel better. 'No...'

"The little bunny held out its paw to the fairy, 'You cannot go back to being innocent and happy but you can stop hurting others. Maybe you will find a _new_ kind of happiness from _that_.'"

Anzu felt Bakura's fingers smoothed some stray strands and he wrapped his arms around her and leaned back.

"So, the fairy accepted the little bunny's paw and she gave him a gift. But this was not a terrible gift. She took away his sniffles, to thank him, and then she flew away. She visited each of the animals of the valley and she gave them new gifts. She could not take away the terrible gifts that she had given them so she gave them more gifts. She gave the plant eaters the gifts of running and hiding, so that they could stay ahead of the meat eaters.

"Unfortunately, the meat eaters refused to take anymore gifts from her and they ran away. But the fairy saw how her new gifts helped the plant eaters and she felt some measure of happiness. She had done so much harm, it would be impossible to fix it all. Then she had a thought. She decided to go find all of the other creatures to whom she had given gifts, all of the ones who would listen to her. She would give them new gifts, better gifts. Gifts which would help them."

Bakura gave Anzu a kiss on the head and lifted her from his lap. He set her down on the cushion next to him. She blinked and watched him stand up and begin to walk away. "Wait!"

He stopped and looked at her, "Hmm?"

"What happened?"

"When?"

"To the fairy? And the plant eaters? And the meat eaters? And the fluffy little bunny?" Anzu clenched the glasses in her hand and leaned towards Bakura, desperate to know.

"Life happened, my dear." With that, Bakura walked away, leaving the questions to hang seemingly unanswered.

+…+

Anzu spent the rest of the day further contemplating the glasses and the strange story. At bedtime, she once again set the glasses on the nightstand and stared at them before the light was turned off.

This night, her dreams were not of horrible things of the past or even of the future. They swirled around the fairy and the bunny. The boy and his eyeglasses. She searched for meaning in each of these things. Something, like loose threads seemed to hang out from each of them and she reached out to them to pull them free, to examine.

Something tickled in her mind, an understanding of what terrible gifts she had been given. Knowledge forced upon her, like the fairy. Bakura had always told her that she was trying so hard to be dark. Seto seemed to be trying to push her to be innocent again. But in all of this she still did not know what she wanted to be. What _could_ she be now? What was her place? Who was she supposed to be?

"Anzu, if you'd like, you can stay in bed tonight." Soft words fell gently on her ears and Anzu awoke. She felt her mouth do the odd thing again and she held up her arms towards the voice.

In the dim light of the bathroom Seto pointed to Anzu's neck in the mirror. She looked at the layered scars and this time she didn't look away.

"You are not your hurt."


	11. Anzu Kaiba

Two little boys sat together at lunch and with them sat their sister. The boys laughed and ate but the girl was staring at a sulking child who sat by himself. His eye were red from crying too many tears, and his nose was pink because he kept sniffling and rubbing it. The girl looked into her bag and looked back at the boy. Then she looked back into her bag and seemed to make up her mind. She took a deep breath, took something out of the bag, and made her way over to the weepy boy.

"These are yours."

The boy jumped when Anzu spoke. She set the eyeglasses down on the table in front of him. His eyes widened with relief and he grabbed the eyeglasses. He clutched them to his chest and then turned to thank the deliverer. But as he looked up he saw who it was and he stammered. His eyes filled with fresh tears and he looked around for somewhere to run.

"I don't want to hurt you. Just… don't be mean to my brother." Anzu turned and began to walk back.

"Tha- thank you… I’m sorry…"

Anzu stopped and turned to look at the boy. He glanced at her and then looked down at the table.

"I'm sorry I scared you so bad." She mumbled.

"I shouldn't have picked on your brother…"

"Your brother is mean to you, isn't he…"

The green haired boy glanced at her and then he looked back down at the table. He nodded.

"You don't have to be mean. You don't have to be like him. You might feel better if you're not mean."

The boy looked at her, confused.

"You don't like it when he picks on you. Why do it to someone else?" Anzu looked at the boy and knew that this conversation wasn't going to go any further. He was staring at the table. He probably didn't understand what she was saying. Maybe she could try to tell him the fairy story... but she decided that she wouldn’t be able to tell it like Bakura had. She looked back at Mokuba and Yuugi and then at the boy again.

She sat down next to him. "My name is Anzu. If you promise not to be mean to my brother, I will not be mean to you.

That was the beginning. The tipping point that lead to a cascade of change.

It all started with the little boy. The boy was the first friend that she made at school. He was an odd child, with a fascination for bugs but when he spoke about them so passionately those things could be really interesting. Anzu got to know him and soon she realized that she could help him. She did not have to be another monster for him. She could be the fluffy bunny.

At night, Anzu happily awaited the new ritual. An affirming chant, rewriting her story. 

Seto came to wake her up and they would look at all of her scars and he would tell her that she was not defined by her hurt. Slowly she came to accept that her scars were just a part of her story. Nights multiplied into weeks and she sat awake waiting for him to come get her. As weeks became months, she began to wait for him outside the bathroom. Eager to begin the ritual as soon as possible. As the months stretched into years, she began to say the mantra herself. The words formed in her mind and fell from her lips. They rubbed out Yami’s ownership of those scars. 

Then the night came, in the wee hours of morning, when Seto found that she had gone into the bathroom all by herself. She no long required a guide on her journey. This was her life. She had taken ownership of it all. Her scars. Her hurt. Her history. Her story of renewal. She stood in front of the bathroom mirror and examined every scar, some fading with time and some too deep to disappear. She no longer flinched or looked away. Anzu stood firm and looked at each reminder of misery and she obliterated their power.

“You are not your hurt.”

As she recited the mantra, outside the door her new father listened to every single "You are not your hurt" and "Your pain is just a part of your story.” She felt his presence in every word. She felt his strength bolster her own.

She grew stronger and stronger. She took a firm grasp on her life and she chose its course. She was no longer some thing defined by the actions taken upon her. She was a person, with a life of choices rolled out before her. This gave her the ability to undergo fundamental change. She evolved.

Anzu became Anzu Kaiba, she accepted that she had two brothers. She accepted that she had a father. She accepted that she had two uncles. She accepted that she had friends. She accepted the new person she had become. She was a person who made friends to help them see that they were not just their hurt. She worked tirelessly to make sure that they each saw that they were amazing people in their own right. 

More than anything else, the greatest thing to change in Anzu was that she accepted herself. She was not garbage. She was not a monster. She was not just a ball of anger, spreading destruction wherever she went.

She was Anzu Kaiba.

She was more than just what a monster had done to her.

+…+

"...so that's why I want to tell each and every one of you. You are not your looks. You are not your possessions. You-” She turned and smiled at the seated teachers, “and forgive me, staff and faculty, for saying this- you are not your grades." A murmur ran through the crowd, a mixture of chuckles and anticipation. “Most of all," Anzu smiled out at the rows and rows of her friends. "Your pain is only a _part_ of your story, it does _not_ define you. _You are not your hurt._ "

A roar of cheers exploded from the graduating class. Hugging and crying ensued. Applause erupted and students stood up from their seats. Each one of them knew these words. Whispered in their ear as they had cried in a stairwell. Written across a computer screen as they had contemplated dark finalities. Yelled at them as they had raged. Passed to them in scribblednotes. To the entire graduating class, these words had been a beacon in dark times, a reminder of a hopeful future, a promise of something meaningful for them. These words had changed their lives. Simple and pure, and filled with a sincerity that had given them the strength to become so much more than they had ever dreamed.

Parents and family members sat in confusion. They wondered what the words meant, but still they felt themselves moved. There was something in those words. There was something in the hearts of all those students who were whistling, shouting, and clapping. Something about those words was magic.

_‘You are more than your hurt.’_

Though there was much confusion in the crowd sitting behind the graduating class, there was one person in the audience who knew what those words truly meant. One person who knew better than all others, what they meant to the girl who had uttered them.

It was with this understanding that a smile came to his lips, as he thought about the young woman his daughter had become.


	12. Epilogue - Sweet Tears

In a limousine a man sits, bawling and blowing his nose. He's just watched a very touching speech from a girl he considers at once a niece and a daughter. He's watching a streaming video of her graduation ceremony on a laptop. Unfortunately, his unpredictable emotional outbursts have made it necessary that he stay out of sight.

He is wiping bloody tears from his cheeks when he sees the picture jump. Something has startled the other man, holding the camera, which is transmitting the video. He hears something like a sniffle and the picture jerks in different directions and angles. The man holding the cellphone looks for something in pockets.

Everything settles and the camera seems to be forgotten, held in an awkward position. The lens absently pointed towards a man’s face.

"Are you ok? Do you need to go back to the limo?" The cameraman asks softly.

"No. No. I'll be alright in a moment.”

A black handkerchief is wiping at eyes shielded by sunglasses but the man in the car doesn't need to see the icy blue eyes they’re hiding to know that they are looking at the stage, full of pride.

"Oh! My little darklings!" The man in the limo wails as he's overcome by another wave of emotion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hallo!
> 
> Welcome to the conclusion of another story in what I am now calling "The Champion Cycle." Someone save me from myself, this was all just supposed to be a quick rewrite of an old story!
> 
> This story, as you just read, focuses on Anzu. I will admit that I utterly hate Tea Gardner in the American dubbed version. I am not a fan of the character in most incarnations- as you may have picked up on- as I tend to twist or torture her in my writings. However, she ended up becoming a whole new character that I ended up falling in love with, in this series.
> 
> When I wrote Anzu into the story Champion, it was a random thing, for some reason I didn't want Yuugi to be the only child that Seto was going to save. I swear to you, that was the most I had thought about it when I decided to write her in. Then I wrote “Champion, Another,” and I gave her more depth of character and she grew and grew.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this story. I know that I enjoyed discovering this version of Anzu, her personality, what made her tick, and what drove her to be the almost sickeningly sweet person she became. I am a fan of dark chocolate and I think this is a story with a bitter flavor that made her original character's sweetness more palatable to me.
> 
> Additionally:  
> When I originally wrote about Anzu’s long morning ritual in “Champion, Another” I had NO idea what it meant. Honestly, I was just writing a cliche, girls take a long time in the bathroom, bit. But so some reason it felt important. There was something about it that meant that it had to stay in. I had absolutely NO idea until this story began to percolate in my mind, until I was sitting down to write “Champion, Quieted” that it had SO much meaning. Honestly and truly that- like an incredible number of things in the Champion Cycle was just some one-off random bit that I wrote in and then didn’t think about until all of a sudden it was a bit piece in another puzzle.
> 
> Thank you for reading!  
> Arwyn


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